Chapter 10. Linguistic variation in instructor provision of oral input

The current study examines the variable use of verbal subjects (e.g., explicit yo hablo vs. null hablo ‘[I] speak’), in oral production by five native-speaking instructors directed to Spanish foreign language (FL) learners in a university setting. Our data consisted of instructors’ oral presentation of grammar-focused tasks in one to three Spanish FL lessons. Results demonstrate individual differences in patterns of use by instructor, and are interpreted in the context of learners’ acquisition of subject expression (e.g., Abreu, 2009; Geeslin, 2011a, 2011b; Geeslin, Linford, & Fafulas, 2015; Geeslin, Linford, Fafulas, Long, & Díaz-Campos, 2012) and patterns of variable use by native speakers across out-of-classroom settings and tasks (e.g., Abreu, 2009; Geeslin, 2006; Geeslin & Gudmestad, 2008a, 2008b). An exploration of individual characteristics such as country of origin (i.e., regional dialect), age of learning of English, years in the United States, and years teaching Spanish provides further evidence of the complex nature of this phenomenon. Future areas of investigation of instructor classroom input, particularly in relation to learner opportunities for use and development of variable structures, are outlined.